Telescoping seat assemblies are commonly used in school gymnasiums, sporting arenas and other areas where it is desirable to be able to move the entire seating assembly between an extended position where rows of seating (typically comprising either bleacher seats, stadium seats, etc.) are deployed, and a retracted position where the rows of seating are telescoped into a reduced area for storage. Recently it has become desirable to have handrail assemblies positioned on the telescoping seat assemblies, often positioned in a center aisle free of seats. U.S. Pat. No. 6,185,875 to Victor et al shows an elegant and efficient design of a handrail assembly incorporating both a top handrail and a lower handrail, forming a “P-rail”. The top and bottom handrails face away from the front and toward the rear, attached to and extending over a row of seating. The P-rail allows users of varying heights to have something to hold onto as they make their way along the rows of seating.
However, such known handrail assemblies need to be moved from their assembled position before the telescoping seat assembly can be moved to the retracted position. This can be accomplished by removal of floor bolts or other fasteners to allow for detachment of the handrail assembly from the rest of the telescoping seat assembly. Alternatively, removal of fasteners can allow the handrail assembly to be pivoted to a stowed position so that the telescoping seat assembly can then be moved to the retracted position without interference. After returning the telescoping seat assembly from the retracted position to the extended position, the handrail assembly would need to be reinstalled. It would be desirable to have a handrail assembly that can be used with a telescoping seat assembly without requiring partial or complete disassembly and reassembly, with its attendant labor costs.